Leif Garrett

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Birthday:

8 November 1961, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Birth Name:

Leif Per Nervik

Height:

177 cm

Born on November 8, 1961 in Hollywood, California, Leif grew up in a world of showbiz and got his first taste of acting in the blockbuster film, Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice (1969) playing the son of Elliott Gould and Dyan Cannon, though he was uncredited. Then he was a frequent guest in TV shows such as Nanny and the Professor (1970), Family Affair (1966), Cannon (1971), Gunsmoke (1955) and The Odd Couple (1970) as well as receiving brief exposure in Walking Tall (1973) and Peopletoys (1974), both films also starring his sister, Dawn Lyn. He then played Endy Karras in the TV series Three for the Road (1975), also starring Alex Rocco and Vincent Van Patten, and by then he started getting exposure on teen magazines and fan mail, despite the show's short run. He still pursued his acting career by starring in some westerns like Diamante Lobo (1976), Kid Vengeance (1977) and Peter Lundy and the Medicine Hat Stallion (1977).However, by then he wanted to be a singer and Michael Lloyd, who was producing records for Shaun Cassidy at the time, signed him up as well. He released two oldie cover singles "Surfin USA" and "Runaround Sue" as well as his self titled debut album, but wasn't really happy with this style of music. He recorded another album called "Feel the Need" which had a top 10 disco flavoured hit his producer wrote called, "I Was Made for Dancin'". He released 3 more albums and walked away from music.He continued in films and was well remembered for his small supporting role in the Blockbuster film The Outsiders (1983), which starred Matt Dillon, Patrick Swayze, Rob Lowe, Emilio Estevez and Tom Cruise, but his films after that were not very successful. However, he did return to music by playing in a band called "Godspeed", as this time he's playing his own music. Show less «

If there is anything I would tell anybody in this profession, it is never believe your own press.

Do not believe your own publicity. Sussing out who your real friends are is full-time work. Every scum bag, every drug dealer, every chicken...Show more »

Do not believe your own publicity. Sussing out who your real friends are is full-time work. Every scum bag, every drug dealer, every chicken hawk wants a piece of you. When you've got that sort of power at that young age, and everything at your doorstep, you put out that bad boy image. At that age, testosterone, hormones, all of the money, you see what else you can get away with. Show less «

I think part of my drug use was that I didn't want to get older. I wanted to stay that rebellious 18-year-old, just thinking I was superman ...Show more »

I think part of my drug use was that I didn't want to get older. I wanted to stay that rebellious 18-year-old, just thinking I was superman or, you know, indestructible. But things catch up to you. Fame is a drug not only to oneself but to others as well. Show less «

My mom didn't understand, you know. It was partially her fault. You don't allow a 14 or 15-year-old kid to go on the road without parental g...Show more »

My mom didn't understand, you know. It was partially her fault. You don't allow a 14 or 15-year-old kid to go on the road without parental guidance. The bartenders knew who I was, knew how old I was, but no one said no. Show less «

My career ended musically, as far as the producers were concerned, when the five-year contract was over and I was, like, 21 or 22, whereas I...Show more »

My career ended musically, as far as the producers were concerned, when the five-year contract was over and I was, like, 21 or 22, whereas I was trying to let them in on my vision to grow. In the teen idol world, the longest a teen idol can last - unless they change and become an adult with their music - is five years. You go from 16 to maybe 21, and then by 21 you're already having sex ... and that changes your whole world. Your music changes, the things you like change. One thing is puppy love; the next thing is lust. In the teen idol world, it's puppy love. New wave music was happening. Disco wasn't going to last, first of all, and that sort of like puppy-love style wasn't going to last either. Like I said, you grow up and start having sex. Your tastes change. You become more mature ... They just didn't see it, and my contract was up and I said, "See you later." Show less «

The last time I went to Japan, three or four years ago, was the last time I did any of that material. Even then, I refused to do them the re...Show more »

The last time I went to Japan, three or four years ago, was the last time I did any of that material. Even then, I refused to do them the regular way. I did a blues version of a disco song. That was a tough one. I wasn't feeling so good then. I was in the middle of a kick. Oh, man. The things we do to ourselves. Show less «

It changed my life big time. Oddly enough, even after the car accident, the "teen idolism" continued for awhile, but not to the same degree....Show more »

It changed my life big time. Oddly enough, even after the car accident, the "teen idolism" continued for awhile, but not to the same degree. Whether that was a part of it or not, I don't know. That was a big lesson for me because I was 17 when that happened. That was like three days before my 18th birthday. It was a tough situation. I knew that even though we were both at fault for what we were doing and for being in a vehicle, because he was going to drive but I drove. Show less «

Everything was absolutely perfect up until '84. And '84 was when the Scotti Brothers made the mistake of telling Paramount and Universal tha...Show more »

Everything was absolutely perfect up until '84. And '84 was when the Scotti Brothers made the mistake of telling Paramount and Universal that I didn't want to sign to a two-picture deal after doing The Outsiders. They started their own production company with me doing a movie about ... foosball. Are you out of your fricking minds? I just did The Outsiders and you're having me do a B-movie about foosball now? I knew how we had to make my crossover to adulthood. But the people who were in charge, supposedly, had no intention of ever letting me have any kind of say in anything. I would have made a better choice than believe what I was told - that I had no other offers and nothing else came in. They were greedy and wanted to start a production company with me. Show less «

The perks of being a teen idol are great, but I don't miss it a lot.